It’s pretty daunting when you are first looking to buy a new or second hand scooter. While pretty much everyone knows the Vespa brand, many might not know some of the other reliable brands that are available in the market today.
The simplistic way of looking at the scooter market is to break it into three tiers. Â
These tiers are similar to the car market of Mercedes Benz (premium), Toyota (middle market) and Great Wall (lower entry level)
- Premium scooters that are build with a particular pedigree and reputation.
- The middle tier are generally scooters built for affordability, reliability and are built primarily for the European market.
- Chinese scooters predominantly built for the Chinese market but also pass our minimum standards.
Premium brands include Vespa, Piaggio, Aprilia, Honda, Yamaha.
The middle tier is the most fought after segment with Piaggio, SYM, Kymco, Peugeot, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Lambretta.
The Chinese scooters built primarily for the Chinese market are the lowest tier and can have weak warranty periods, poor parts supply and if you google them often have a poor record for failures. It’s buyer beware in this category.
You will find that most of the dominant scooter stores will only sell the middle and premium. For example here at Scooter Central we sell Vespa, Piaggio, Aprilia, Peugeot, SYM and Kymco. This gives us a good mix of brands and categories such as retro, sport and contemporary.
It also allows us to provide a good mix of styles. For example you can’t go past Vespa if you are in the market for a premium scooter with a 75 year history and that retro feel. Similarly Piaggio and Aprilia are Italian brands that build quality product a long history and have Italian flair.
If you are after excellent quality and affordability, you can’t go past Peugeot, SYM and Kymco. They build specifically for western markets like ours, and are strong, cost effective and reliable machines.
Warranty is a consideration when buying a new scooter. All of our brands have a minimum of a two year warranty they include an unlimited kilometre addition to this which is very reassuring as you can see the brands are confident in their product.
When buying a new or used scooter, I’d also check on parts supply. Parts supply for the tier 3 brands can be checkered, while the middle and premium brands is good. Also note that scooters that are particularly old might have limited parts supply.
If you are buying a used scooter, I’d check on the brand and ask a few questions about parts supply, and any niggles the model might have either now or in the future. The good news is that the name brands are often a safe bet. They won’t be the cheapest scooter you can buy, but they are very often the most affordable in the long run.
Finally, let’s consider resale. I find that the brands in the premium and middle tier are definitely the best bet when it comes to resale. Most consumers will be more comfortable buying the brands with a good name in the scooter market. In fact, you will notice that the most recognisable brand, Vespa, holds its value amazingly high as a second hand scooter.
So there you have it. A rough guide to picking a scooter brand. If you’d like any further advice, feel free to give us a call on 02 9938 5858. We’re here 6 days a week and love to talk about scooters.